The Spiritual Unity of All Believers in Christ

TERRY SHANAHAN, NE REGIONAL PASTOR

I am blessed to be in the unique position to worship in a different CCCC church on most Sundays. We have many different size churches, many different styles of worship. We have urban churches, rural churches, and suburban churches. We have new church plants. We even have churches that were established in the 1600’s. Within all that diversity, a common denominator is the spiritual unity of all believers in Christ.

Often I am invited to visit churches not of our denomination as well. Most of the time these churches have a desire to know more about the CCCC and to perhaps join with us and partner for the Kingdom. Those who have diligently sought us out want to come under our “Biblical umbrella.” They are like minded believers united in spirit even though they have come from different traditions. At this coming year’s Annual Gathering in Pittsburgh, we expect a few of those will be joining with us in the CCCC.

In March of 2015 I was blessed to travel for eight days in England, Ireland, Switzerland and France. I met with various denominational leaders and pastors who were partnering with the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity to bring revitalization to declining churches in Western Europe. At times I observed stark differences in the manner of doing church but what l also saw shining through was the spiritual unity of all believers.
This past February in Orlando Florida the CCCC was host to the World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship. The uplifting and inspiring part of that Conference was the amazing testimonies of pastors and churches from around the world. Many face stark circumstances which we are unfamiliar with in our comfortable society. Some are facing hardships and persecutions that are also foreign to us. Some shared familiar stories of church decline and apathy. Some shared amazing miracles of God in their circumstances. But for as much as their experiences and circumstances were different than ours the evidence that we are all one in Christ was abundantly clear.

Not only do we believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in Christ. We are witnesses to it and are living it out in our Conference.

Vermont Area Representative Peter and Sharon Anderson opened their home to the pastors of Vermont for a fellowship dinner on November 4th.

Present were Jason and Jennifer McConnell, Rick and Pat Shover, Tim and Bobbie Sargent, Tim Franklin, Glenn and Jo Ann Carter, and Terry and Karlotta Shanahan A pot luck dinner provided a rich variety of delicious food.

It was a great time of fellowship for the Vermont pastors.